mm^!^im:M^m;i^wj 



iociety of the Army of 
Santiago de Cuba. 



DEDICATION 



of the 



Battle Monument at £1 Caney , Cuba. 



DEDICATION 

of the 



First Landing Monument at Daiquiri, Cuba. 



REPORT 

of the 

Santiago Battlefield Commission. 



Baltimore, Maryland, 

Press of John S. Bridges &. Co. 

1906 



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\ t/m*, J, <'■ ■' 







1 



Society of the Army of 
Santiago de Cuba. 



DEDICATION 

of the 



Battle Monument at El Caney, Cuba. 



DEDICATION 

of the 

First* Landing Monument at Daiquiri, Cuba. 



REPORT 

of the 

Santiago Battlefield Commission. 



Baltimore, Maryland, 

Press of John S. Bridges &. Co. 

1906 



.S6t 



Gift 
The So(Met.y 



Officers of the Society. 

PRESIDENT : 

Lieutenant-General ADNA R. CHAFFEE, U. S. A. 

FIRST VICE-PRESIDKNT : 

Major-Genei-al J. FORD KENT. U. S. V. 
(BriK.-Gen. U. S. A.) 

SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT : 

Major-Geneial H. S. HAWKINS. U. S. V. 
(Brig.-Gen. U. S. A.) 

THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT : 

Lieutenant-Colonel CHAS. DICK. 8th Ohio Vol. Infantry. 
(Major-General Ohio National Guard.) 

FOURTH VICE-PRESIDENT. 

Major-General S. S. SUMNER. U. S. A. 

SECRETARY AND TREASURER : 

Lieutenant-Colonel ALFRED C. SHARPS, :}Oth U. S. Infantry. 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY AND TREASURER : 

Captain HOLLIS CHENERY CLARK. U. S. A. 

HISTORIAN : 

Major G. CREIGHTON WEBB, In.sp'r-Gen. IJ. S. V. 

REGISTRAR-GENERAL : 

Colonel PHILIP READE. 23d U. S. Infantry. 

FIRST DIVISION REGISTRAR : 

Major L. W. V. KENNON, 10th U. S. Infantry. 
SECOND DIVISION REGISTRAR : 

Colonel JAMES T. KERR. M. S.. U. S. A. 

THIRD DIVISION REGISTRAR : 

Colonel CHARLES MORTON, 7th U. S. Calvary. 

FOURTH DIVISION REGISTRAR : 

Lieutenant-Colonel JOHN JACOB ASTOR, Insp'r-Gen. U. S. V. 
The above named otficers are also members, ex-officio. of the Council. 



Additional Members of the Council : 

Major-General WM. R. SHAFTER. U. S. A.. e.\ -officio, former President. 

Lieutenant-General JOHN C. BATES. U. S. A., ex-officio, former Piesident. 

Lieutenant-General S. B. M. Young-. U. S. A. 

Brigadier-General ADELBERT AMES. U. S. V. 

Major-General WALLACE F. RANDOLPH. U. S. A. 

BriKadier-General CHAMBERS McKIBBIN, U. S. A. 

Colonel THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 1st U. S. V. Calvary. 

Brigadier-General E. D. DIMMICK. U. S. A. 

Colonel GEO. H. HARRIES. 1st D. C. Vol. Infantry, Brig.-Gen. D. C. Militia. 

Major-General JOHN F. WESTON, U. S. A. 

Lieutenant-Colonel GEORGE V. LAUMAN. 1st 111. Vol. Infantry. 



Finance Committee: 

Major-General J. C. BRECKINRIDGE, U. S. A. 

Captain CHARLES D. RHODES, fith U. S. Cavalry. General Staff. 

Captain LEROY W. HERRON. 1st D. C. Volunteer Infantry. 

Santiago Battlefield Commission: 

Lieutenant-(;eneral S. B. M. Young, U. S. A., Chairman. 
Brigadier-General ALBERT S. MILLS, U. S. A. 
Lieutenant-Colonel WEBB C. HAYES, U. S. V.. Secretary. 



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ITINERARY 

OF THE 

Trip of the Santiago Battlefield Commission and Party, 
8 to 25 February, 1906. 



8 -Left New York. 

9— Touched at Fortress Monroe. 

13— Arrived Guantanamo; visited McCalla Hill. 

14— Arrived Santiago; made official call upon the Gov- 
ernor of province and Alcalde of city in forenoon; 
held dedication ceremonies of battle monument 
at El Caney in afternoon; attended banquet by 
Cuban government at Hotel Venus at night, fol- 
lowed by ball by the San Carlos and Union Clubs. 

15— Made informal excursions to Santiago battlefield ; 
held reception on board transport. 

16— Left Santiago; visited scene of naval battle; landed 
at Daiquiri and dedicated First Landing Monu- 
ment. 

18— Arrived Havana. 

20— Attended reception by President Palma; left Havana. 

24— Touched at Fortress Monroe. 

25 — Arrived New York. 



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Order of Exercises. 
DEDICATION OF BATTLE MONUMENT 

On Ruins of Fort El Viso, El Cancy, Cuba, 
14 February. 1906. 

The meeting- called to order by Lieutenant-General Adna 
R. Chaffee, U. S. A., President of the Society of the 
Army of Santiago de Cuba, 

Invocation by the Reverend J. B. Mancebo. 

Music by the 5th Band, Artillery Corps, U. S. Army. 

Remarks by Lieutenant General S. B. M. Young-, U.S.A., 
representing- the President of the United States. 

Music, "Star Spangled Banner," Cuban Artillery Band. 

Remarks by General Andrade, representing the Presi- 
dent of the Republic of Cuba. 

Music, " Himno de Bayamo," 5th Band, Artillery Corps, 
U. S. A. 

Unveiling- of the Commemorative Tablets, by Lieutenant 
Colonel Webb C. Hayes, U. S. V., Secretary, Santiago 
Battlefield Commission. 

Salute by American and Cuban forces. 

Remarks by Rear Admiral Francis J. Higginson, U.S.N., 
representing the Secretary of the Navy. 

Remarks by Rear Admiral Charles E. Clark, U. S. N., 
Commanding U. S. Battleship "Oregon" in the Naval 
Battle of Santiago de Cuba. 

Music by the Cuban Artillery Band. 

Address : Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred C. Sharpe, U. S. A., 
Secretary of the Society of the Army of Santiago de 
Cuba. 

Music by the 5th Band, Artillery Corps, U. S. A. 

Benediction by the Most Reverend Archbishop of Santi- 
ago de Cuba. 



(9) 



Speech of Lleutenant-General A. R. Chaffee, U. S. A. 



It is well within the recollection of men and women 
present that for several years prior to 1898 the aspira- 
tions and efforts of the Cuban people for a government, 
independent and National in character, were strenuously 
opposed by a foreign nation which supported its policy 
with a large army in occupation of the country; that as 
a consequence of relentless determination upon the one 
hand and upon the other, there arose serious conflicts. 
War, devastation of homes, industrial ruin, spread the 
length and breadth of this fair island, and finally, 
disorder, of such magnitude as affected the honor of 
the United States and caused her bond of life-long 
friendship with Spain to be severed. 

Hither came an army of United States soldiers and 
the ships of her splendid Navy : highly important 
events followed quickly. It is a matter of history that 
within the brief time of twenty days our Army and 
Navy, aided by a patriotic force of Cubans, gloriously 
battled in their respective spheres of action, on land 
and sea, gaining victories : the political authority of a 
great nation in control here for more than a hundred 
years— her military and naval power in this section of 
the world -was rendered ineffective, and in a short 
while thereafter diplomatically terminated forever. 

It is never possible to accomplish large events by 
war without some sacrifice of life. 

Soldiers were here and at nearby places killed in 
the battles ; others bled and died of wounds received in 
action ; still others fell sick and died of disease con- 
tracted here. But what of the compensation for this 
loss ! When the contending parties had ceased their 
strife ; when all the implements of war had been re- 
moved from sight ; when real peace, good order, hap- 
piness and contentment of the people, blossomed frag- 
rantly to our several senses— if I may so speak — a million 

(10) 



and a half of Cubans were made free and indepen- 
dent, and in place of a government of arbitrary power, 
political and military of a foreign nation, there has 
been substituted the will and force of the Cuban people, 
free and independently exercised by their own repre- 
sentatives. 

Now, seven and a half years after hostilities here, 
representatives of the Army of Santiago de Cuba, of 
the Navy of the United States, have come to mark, with 
enduring bronze, this field of honorable sacrifice of 
soldier life for country— for a government by the people. 

For this occasion and purpose, however, we are not 
alone. We have with us the representative of the Pres- 
ident of the United States; with us, too, are representa- 
tives of the republic of Cuba, the last born of the sister- 
hood of nations; around about us are citizens of this free 
and prosperous New Nation ; and here also, my Cuban 
friends, are wives and daughters— our good angels upon 
earth, who willingly sacrifice material comforts, partake 
of great mental distress, in order to dutifully cheer on 
soldiers and sailors of the great republic to do battle for 
country ; always and only in a righteous cause. 

We are indeed glad to understand that the presence 
here of these representatives, of these citizens, of 
these friends, is to show their appreciation of services 
rendered in this vicinity by soldiers and sailors of the 
United States and by patriotic Cubans. We hope that 
when, with the generous assistance of the Government 
and people of Cuba, marking of this battlefield shall 
have been completed as planned, and strangers shall 
come here to read from the tablet of bronze the names 
of our fallen comrades ; shall observe the industrial 
progress certain to be made in this island, mark the 
intellectual and social advancement of the Cuban people 
under just and liberal laws, the motto of the Society 
of the Army of Santiago de Cuba will encompass their 
thoughts : " As He died to make men holy, let us die 
to make men free. ' ' 

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(12) 



Speech of Lieutenant-Gencral S. B. M. Young, U. S. A. 

With nations as with individuals, a glorious his- 
tory produces tranquility, contentment and happiness. 

It is said of man : " It is better to have loved and 
lost than never to have loved ", and it may be said of 
a nation that it is better to have fought for liberty and 
failed than never to have fought. Far better it is for 
the good people of a nation to dare mighty things 
against tremendous odds and meet with failure and 
disaster many times if they triumph in the end than to 
remain supinely hugging the delusive phantom of hope 
without daring to do or die, living ever in a fading 
twilight that reflects neither victory nor defeat. 

Eight years ago the patriots of this beautiful island 
nation, after years of trials, sufferings and defeats, 
were made happy by the echoes of our guns in their 
cause at Las Guasimas, El Caney, San Juan and Kettle 
Hill, and on the sea front of Santiago, which drove out 
a medieval tyranny that for centuries had overridden 
and crushed the spirit of liberty in this land. This 
friendship of the American people, whose forefathers 
had fought many years, suffered many defeats and 
finally won their liberty from the most powerful nation 
of Europe a century and a quarter previously, was won 
by the patriotic spirits of this island, daring again and 
again through many dark and bloody years to accomplish 
their liberty. And now, my friends, Americans and 
Cubans, we know while the American Army did a great 
work here in conjunction with the Cuban Army and 
received great credit for that work, greater credit 
belongs to the nation, to the people who sent that army 
to do the work. Not for the purpose of driving out 
the Spaniards and assuming sovereignty, but for a bet- 
tering of the conditions for the purpose of allowing the 
inhabitants of Cuba a fair, square deal and a chance to 
play their own hand at the game of self-government. 

(1.3) 



You, my Cuban friends, have shuffled and dealt 
the cards and you are happily playing the game well 
for beginners. Of the heroic work accomplished, of 
the noble deeds performed on this field, it is for us to 
make report of those who gave their lives that their 
comrades might gain the victory. It is for us to estab- 
lish these monuments to the memory of our brave sol- 
diers, our comrades who died on this field of battle that 
our Army might win the glorious success it did win, 
and that Cuba— this beautiful, tropical island— might 
enjoy, as it is now enjoying, the blessings of freedom 
and the liberty of self-government. And my comrades 
in arms, 'tis our reward that we can stand on this 
battlefield and not blush that we survive. In our 
memories we treasure the names of those heroes and 
we consecrate these monuments and tablets as our 
report to those Americans and Cubans who come after 
we have passed to the impenetrable beyond, so that 
when they read the name of each soldier who has fallen 
on this field they will find the final entry on their 
descriptive lists to be " Dead upon the field of honor." 



Speech of Rear Admiral Francis J. Higginson, U. S. N. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

By the courtesy of the Committee of the Santiago 
Society, Rear Admiral Clark and myself have been in- 
vited to represent the Navy in the ceremonies of today 
commemorating, as we do, those gallant dead who gave 
up their lives that Cuba might be free, and inscribing 
here their names in imperishable tablets so that all 
future generations may not forget the immutable ex- 
ample of their great deeds. And while it is true the 
Navy had no part in the immediate conflict around 
Santiago, it was owing to the cordial co-operation and 
protection of the Navy of the United States that the 

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Army was enabled to arrive and disembark at its des- 
tination in safety. The work of convoy and that of 
disembarkation was well and ably performed, and the 
Army once safely landed pursued its way to victory with 
its accustomed celerity and gallantry. 

It is true that in connection with these battles that 
naval influence was more felt than seen, more implied 
than active. That the vicinity of Santiago should have 
become so unexpectedly the historic ground upon which 
was fought to a successful termination that long dream 
of Cuban independence, was due entirely to the presence 
of the Spanish fleet under Admiral Cervera; this fleet 
becoming for the time the objective point both of the 
Army and the Navy of the United States. With the 
existence of Spain's naval power in the West Indies 
unsubdued, all operations upon the ocean were subject 
to danger, and therefore the first point was to eliminate 
this factor from the problem— the freeing of Cuba. That 
work belonging legitimately to naval strategy, was 
frustrated by the protection afforded to the Spanish fleet 
by the physical condition of Santiago harbor which 
opposed a barrier to the entrance of our battleships, 
necessitating, therefore, the work of an army for the 
capture of Santiago. All that the Navy required w^as 
to get into close quarters with the Spanish fleet, and 
when it was finally driven out of Santiago by the capture 
of that city by the Army, the Navy accomplished in a 
few hours and with the loss of but one man, the object 
of their ambition and strewed the Cuban shore with the 
burning wrecks of their victims; so the Army and Navy 
having, as it were, marched hand in hand to victoiy, it 
is fitting for the Navy to be represented in these servi- 
ces commemorating the dead who fell in these combined 
operations. The history of the Cuban dream of inde- 
pendence is one of the most interesting on record, 
saddened as it was by martyrdom, torture and death, 
and emblazoned as it was with deeds of heroism, long 
and patient suffering. It encountered defeat and hope 

(15) 




U"HK CHUKfH A'l' KL CAN'EY. 1SS>S. 



(16) 



long- deferred, and its pathway was strewn with the 
tragedies of war. In dedicating here, as w^e do now, 
our monument to those of our own countrymen who died 
that Cuba might be free, let us not forget those noble 
Cuban patriots who against seemingly insurmountable 
and overwhelming odds, never despaired of their cause 
nor wavered in their allegiance. 

All honor, then, to those noble Cuban patriots who 
kept the torch of independence burning through the 
darkness of disaster and defeat, and all honor to the 
noble President of the Cuban Republic whose history is 
a romance of persecution, imprisonment, exile, through 
which he never despaired and who lived finally to see 
the success of all his hopes and to represent in his own 
person the embodiment of Cuban independence, and to 
be elected while still in exile to the honored position of 
the Cuban Republic which he loved so w^ell. 



Speech of l^car Admiral C. E. Clark, U. S. N. 



My friends, I shall not try to pay a tribute to the 
bravery and devotion of the men who fought at Las 
Guasimas, at San Juan Hill and here at El Caney, for I 
am too conscious of my inability to do so in fitting 
words. But I wish to express my deep gratification at 
being present at this meeting, held in commemoration of 
services and sacrifices that gave to Cuba freedom and 
independence and to America greater and, let us hope, 
more enduring glory than came to Rome on the noblest 
day in her history, when the conqueror of the Mace- 
donians proclaimed liberty to all the cities of Greece. 

And I am the more grateful at being here because 
my presence is a recognition of the unfaltering efforts 
of my companions on board the Battleship "' Oregon " 
that she might be brought around a continent in time 
for the decisive conflict. And, if in that conflict I was 
distressed at the thought of the brave men slain and 

(17) 



the wounded who were suffering on board those burn- 
ing Spanish ships, I was comforted by the thought that 
for every life taken that day many would be saved, for 
we were breaking down the bridge to Spain. And I 
know that the roar of our guns was an inspiring and a 
more than welcome sound to the war worn soldiers in 
the trenches around Santiago. 



Address by Licutcnant-Colonci Alfred C. Sharpe, U. S. A. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We have come across the seas to dedicate on this 
historic field a monument to the memory of brave com- 
rades who here gave up their lives in battle. Unlike 
most wars whose glowing camp fires and flashing guns 
have thrown their lurid glare across the page of history, 
the conflict in which these men fought and died was 
waged neither for the defense of cherished institutions 
at home nor for subjugation and conquest abroad. They 
were not actuated by sordid ambition and lust of power 
which have been the cause of so many cruel struggles 
among the children of men. They came not at the 
behest of loyal princes struggling for the succession to 
a throne, nor yet for the extension of commerce nor 
for the acquisition of new domains. Their mission 
here was of a far different nature and so unique in its 
motive and so brilliant in its achievement as to be per- 
haps without a real parallel in the history of war. 

The people of Cuba had long been struggling to 
cast off the hated yoke of Spain ; without recognition 
as belligerents, without a treasury, without a navy ; 
hunted down and penned like animals in camps of re- 
concentration ; half naked and dying by thousands of 
starvation ; with poor arms and limited ammunition, 
they yet maintained the unequal struggle through years 
of suffering and horror such as has seldom blackened 

(18) 



the annals of the race. Deeply moved by these sad con- 
ditions, so shocking to every sentiment of humanity, 
the great heart of the American people went out to 
these unhappy neighbors in unfeigned compassion and 
sympathy and began to demand how long in all good 
conscience this reign of desolation could be permitted 
to endure. The right of one government to intervene 
in the internal affairs of another had long been debated 
by the publicists and discarded as a pernicious and dan- 
gerous doctrine. Our own Washington had even warned 
the fathers to beware of entangling alliances. But 
anyone the least acquainted with the genius of our 
institutions and the character of our people could not 
have failed to foresee that sooner or later the cry of 
these sorrowing Cubans would pierce the soul and rouse 
the conscience of the great republic of the north, and 
then woe to him who should stand in the way of their 
swift and righteous judgment ! It was not difficult, 
perhaps, for the people of England to understand the 
feelings of their American kindred in this delicate sit- 
uation. They had themselves been similarly circum- 
stanced a hundred years before when in the famous 
declaration of Whitehall, after recounting some of the 
horrors of the French Revolution, they declared : 

''This state of affairs cannot subsist in France 
without implicating neighboring powers ; without giving 
them the right and imposing upon them the duty of 
arresting the progress of an evil which only exists by 
the successive violation of all laws and every sense of 
propriety, and the subversion of the fundamental prin- 
ciples which unite men by the ties of social life." 

But in that instance England was intervening to 
restore a throne— not to emancipate an enthralled people. 
And in the American Revolution several years prior to 
that date the aid which came to the colonies from 
France was recognized not so much as an intervention 
in behalf of the colonists as an effort to humble the 
power of England. To the nations of continental 

(19) 



Europe, however, the kindly impulses of the American 
people were not so readily intelligible. They hugged 
the delusion that sectional differences were still smoul- 
dering among us and that united action on any great 
question of policy, especially one so serious as to involve 
the possibility of war, would be next to impossible. 
Accustomed to suppress individuality and keep the 
faculties of the mind among the masses inert, they did 
not realize that ours is indeed and in fact a government 
by the people, and that in point of intelligence, gen- 
erous sentiment and spontaneous individual initiative 
the American character, as some one has justly declared, 
is probably the most striking and positive which the 
human family has produced. Such a people, once con- 
vinced of the righteousness of a cause, do not stop to 
count the cost nor calculate the benefits. Strongly 
imbued with the militant missionary spirit, their leaders 
are not only encouraged to lead on, but even impelled 
farther possibly than they originally intended to go or 
deemed it expedient to go. So it was in the great war 
between the States in 1861 ; and so it was again in 
the war of 1898. President McKinley and his able 
advisers saw the approach of the coming storm ; with 
noble forbearance and high statesmanship they ex- 
hausted every resource of diplomacy to find, if pos- 
sible, some basis of pacification and adjustment without 
an appeal to arms. And it is only fair to Spain to 
remember that these overtures were received and 
treated with a consideration which gave promise of 
ultimate peaceful success. But suddenly, like the flash 
of an electric bolt, a horrible event in the harbor of 
Havana dissipated all possibility of settlement and 
passed the question from the deliberations of cabinets 
and diplomats to the forum of the people. The explo- 
sion of the Maine seemed to set the republic on fire. 
Its reverberations shook the remotest hamlet in the 
land. The story of Cuba's wrongs became the theme 
of daily conversation and the burden of the daily press ; 

(20) 



it was told with touching pathos in the halls of Con- 
gress ; from ocean to ocean pulpits rang with burning 
philippics and the congregations again began singing 
the grand old war song, the sublime ' ' Battle Hymn of 
the Republic" : 

"Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the 

Lord ; 
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of 

wrath are stored; 
He hath loosed the fateful lightnings of his terrible 

swift sword; 

His truth is marching on. 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was borne across the 

sea, 
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and 

me; 
As He died to make men holy let us die to make men 

free; 

While God is marching on." 

And SO the war began; obedient to the will of the 
people and without one dissenting vote, the Congress 
made an appropriation of fifty millions of dollars at 
the immediate disposal of the President. This remark- 
able unanimity of action, obliterating all party lines and 
discovering the undivided nation in solid phalanx behind 
the President as their Commander-in-Chief was perhaps 
one of the happiest surprises which surprising America 
has ever given to the nations of the world. And had 
they learned no other lesson save this, the opportunity 
to proclaim in such an unmistakable and splendid manner 
the absolute unification and solidarity of our great coun- 
try would of itself have been worth all the money the war 
cost. It is gratifying also to recall at this juncture the 
resolute attitude and good will of our cousins in old 
England. We are told that when approached by some 
of the continental powers with a proposition for a coali- 
tion in behalf of Spain the British Government declined 
absolutely to consider it; and upon being pressed as to 
her attitude in case such coalition were formed without 
her, replied that in that event she would stand by the 

(22) 



United States. I am aware that the truth of this state- 
ment has been seriously questioned, and it must be con- 
fessed that the tone of the British press at that time 
was by no means friendly; but whether the report be 
true or false we certainly know this: that ever since the 
memorable victory which here crowned our arms seven 
and one-half years ago, British respect for America has 
been steadily growing and has been seeking expression 
on every proper occasion in words and tokens of esteem. 
Contemplating these happy conditions and hoping that 
England and America may continue to draw still closer 
and closer together "hands clasped across the sea" and 
girdling the world with the benign influences of Anglo- 
Saxon institutions, who shall measure the results of the 
war of 1898? 

We will not stop to review the dramatic scenes 
which followed the declaration of war: the hasty mob- 
ilization and embarkation of Shafter's splendid corps; 
the disquieting rumors of phantom warships; the long, 
tedious voyage; the skillful landing under protection of 
our gallent fleet; then the affair at Guasimas, followed 
by the prompt advance and the final glorious culmination 
here on that memorable July 1st when Capron's guns 
opened the day at El Caney. Those stirring events are 
vividly remembered by all and need not here be recount- 
ed. But it is gratifying to recall the fact that American 
prowess on this field was fully maintained at the high 
standard of its best and loftiest traditions. We had 
been taught by former wars to believe that when troops 
in action had sustained certain losses approximating 14 
or 15 per cent, it would be necessary to bring up the 
supports, and when such losses reached the alarming 
proportion of 25 per cent, the morale would be seriously 
shattered and further advance without re-enforcements 
would be eflTectually checked. But it remained for the 
American Army on this field to establish a new world 
record. Without supports, without a man in reserve, 
and after a most exhausting march through the torrid 

(23) 



jungle, the single thin line which rushed to the assault 
of these entrenched positions lost more than 15 per cent, 
before it had traversed half the bullet swept zone: yet 
they gallantly pressed on, many of the regiments, ex- 
posed to direct and converging fire, such as the Seventh 
of Lawton's, and the Sixth, Thirteenth and Sixteenth 
of Kent's, leaving upwards of 30 per cent, lying along 
the bloody path across the deadly plain. 

It may not be inappropriate to pause just here for 
a moment to repeat, as it should be repeated on every 
proper occasion and in every proper place, the lesson 
here impressively emphasized that if we would reach 
across the sea and strike a blow as quick and crushing 
and decisive as was struck here in 1898, we must have the 
most perfect instrumentalities with which to do it ; we 
must have not only an adequate modern Navy but a 
highly specialized and adequate military establishment 
as well. Relying with confidence upon our splendid bat- 
tleships to do their part, we must, nevertheless, remem- 
ber, that their action stops with the shore. A ship, how- 
ever magnificently equipped and handled, cannot fight on 
land, neither can a navy spare its vessels for transpor- 
tation. Nor should we be satisfied with a contempla- 
tion of our vast resources and fall into the fatal belief 
that a land force can be suddenly improvised. Military 
resources and military strength are two widely different 
things and must not be confounded. We may possess 
untold wealth in the one and be sadly destitute in the 
other. The speedy organization, equipment and embark- 
ation of some of the dashing volunteers who partici- 
pated so honorably in the Santiago campaign, was 
indeed a fine exhibition of American initiative and 
organizing power. But our admiration for their bold 
and gallant action should never be permitted to obscure 
the fact that an immediately available and well trained 
force cannot be suddenly created. In addition to the 
preliminary work of organizing and equipping, the 
training of the modern soldier demands an irreducible 



(24) 



amount of time, and time in the operations of war is 
an element which neither g-old nor genius can command. 
I know these are famiHar and oft repeated truisms, 
but, we regret to say there is still great need of their 
repetition. And they should be repeated and repeated 
again until our people come to a realization of their full 
meaning. We should never grow weary of reciting the 
old Roman proverb, as true to-day as when it was first 
uttered, that if we would have commerce, if we would 
have national stability, if we would have honorable and 
lasting peace, we must be ready for war. This is the 
first and second and third duty of the State. Had we 
been compelled in 1898 to postpone the invasion of 
Cuba until we could have organized and prepared a 
sufficient volunteer force, training them in all the 
scientific appliances of the present day, the strategic 
advantages would have been entirely lost, the enemy 
would have gained time to prepare a more formidable 
defense, the threatened coalitions would probably have 
been consummated, perhaps our command of the sea 
interrupted, and the story of Cuba would have been 
far different. After the roar of battle has ceased to 
resound in our ears, after the armies are called home 
and aff'airs have resumed their normal course, we are 
prone to look back upon the conditions which led to the 
conflict as something out of the ordinary and as not 
liable to happen again. But human wisdom cannot fore- 
see the varied form in which opposition to our wide- 
expanding, world-engirdling republic may next appear ; 
having become a great world power we certainly shall 
be expected to meet the obligations of a world power ; 
without an effective and immediately available land force 
backed up by a properly organized and trained reserve, 
no suddenly improvised transports however numerous, 
and no hastily assembled levies, however brave and 
patriotic, will suffice. It is encouraging to see that the 
President of the United States, himself a veteran of 
the Santiago campaign, is leading the thought of the 

(25) 




(26) 



country in this important matter. In his last annual 
message to Congress he declares: "We cannot con- 
sider the question of our foreign policy without at the 
same time treating of the Army and Navy." He points 
out the importance of thorough preparation and train- 
ing, and adds : " Only by such training in advance can 
we be sure that in actual war field operations and those 
at sea will be carried on successfully." If the cam- 
paign of Santiago shall have brought our people to a 
serious contemplation of these vital truths, leading them 
to develop and resolutely maintain an adequate trans- 
port service against all the arguments and influences of 
the intense commercialism of the day and a rational 
system of National Reserves capable of immediate and 
effective action, we shall recognize another debt of 
gratitude to the prompt and ready men who came over 
the seas to give battle here in 1898. 

Time will not permit us to call the roll of our heroic 
dead— lustrous with the names of the invincible Lawton, 
the knightly Ludlow, the brave Wikoff; yea, bearing 
also the names of Liscum, and Hamilton and Egbert and 
Haskell, and Forse and Fornance and the two Caprons, 
and scores of others less conspicuous, perhaps, in mili- 
tary rank but of no less conspicuous virtue. Many of 
them fell here gallantly charging these gallantly de- 
fended trenches; others succumbed to wounds or sank 
under wasting disease here contracted; and others still 
escaping the storm of shot and shell which swept down 
from these embattled heights, survived only to fall on 
other fields of glory in far away Luzon or under the 
walls of ancient Pekin. Soldiers every one of them ! 
"men who put their creed into their deed " and who, 
though conscious they were participating in a great 
drama on the stage of life, never stopped to act a part, 
never looked to the crowd for applause. And yet, what 
paeans of applause their splendid achievements did 
evoke ! The President of the United States cabled to 
General Shaf ter : 

(27) 



" The President of the United States sends to you and your 
brave army the profound thanks of the American people for the 
brilliant achievements at Santiago, resulting in the surrender of 
the city and all of the Spanish troops and territory under General 
Toral. Your splendid command has endured not only the hardships 
and sacrifices incident to campaign and battle, but in stress of heat 
and weather has triumphed over obstacles which would have over- 
come men less brave and determined. One and all have displayed 
the most conspicuous gallantry and earned the gratitude of the 
Nation." 

And the Major-General at the head of the Army 
telegraphed from Washington : 

"Accept my hearty congratulations on the record made of mag- 
nificent fortitude, gallantry and sacrifice displayed in the desperate 
fighting of the troops before Santiago. I realize the hardships, 
difficulties and sufferings and am proud that amid those terrible 
scenes the troops illustrated such fearless and patriot devotion to 
the welfare of our common country and flag. Whatever the results 
to follow their unsurpassed deeds of valor, the past is already a 
gratifying chapter of history." 

And General Shaffer, describing in his official re- 
port the charge of Kent's Division, declared : "In this 
fierce contest words fail to do justice to the gallant 
regimental commanders and their men." 

But why dwell on these splendid tributes of praise ! 

"True fame demands not panegyric aid." 

The memory of these modest soldiers is not only 
dear to their comrades; not only revered by their coun- 
trymen; it is embalmed also in the gratitude of all pa- 
triotic sons of Cuba; yea, it is enshrined everywhere in 
the heart of humanity. 

In erecting this monument to these valorous men 
we would also proclaim, not only to the people of Cuba 
on whose soil it stands, but to every stranger who may 
chance in coming years to visit this hallowed spot, the 
magnitude of the event and the sacredness of the prin- 
ciples which it commemorates. We wish it to stand 
here so long as stone and bronze may endure a fit em- 
blem of stalwart heroism and unbending devotion to 
duty. We desire here to mark the spot where the last 
vestige of absolutism in the Western Hemisphere was 

(28) 



forever struck down and a struggling people lifted to 
honored place among the nations of the world. Above 
all we cherish the hope that it shall remain an enduring 
reminder to the inhabitants of this beautiful island, 
not only of the men and events in memory of which it 
is raised, but of the priceless boon of civil and religious 
liberty here won for Cuba with such costly blood, and 
that this precious heritage can be preserved only by the 
same unwavering fidelity to duty which led these sol- 
diers from the northland across the tropic seas. And 
while we consecrate this monument as a memorial to 
the unmeasured benefits conferred, not only upon Cuba, 
but upon the cause of human freedom in all lands under 
the sun, we would also leave it here as a shrine to 
which every child of this young republic can turn and 
receive fresh inspiration for the duties of a pure and 
noble citizenship. Let not the people of Cuba look upon 
this monument merely as a tribute to the soldiers of a 
foreign land. Let it remind them, also, of their own 
heroic compatriots, who under the brave and uncon- 
querable Garcia, struggled so many long and bloody 
years in the cause of Cuba libre. Well do we recall 
those final days of June, when in the midst of drench- 
ing rain and mud almost impassable, we saw them 
moving steadily to their appointed positions under the 
leadership of Castillo, and Sanchez and Benitez, and 
Marti and Rabi and Lora and their other dauntless com- 
manders ; their scanty clothing torn and tattered, many 
of them in bare feet and bare heads, and carrying their 
meagre supply of food in bits of rags twisted and tied 
in the form of sacks. Gladly our generous men shared 
their rations with them and bade them Godspeed in 
their splendid struggle. And so I repeat that while we 
establish this monument especially to commemorate the 
achievements of our own country, it would certainly 
fall short of our purpose did it not also bear testimony 
to the dauntless patriotism and devotion of those heroic 
sons of Cuba. And to those who survived that long. 



(29) 



sad period of darkness and are permitted to see the joy 
of this auspicious day, we extend our sincere fehcita- 
tions, wishinp: them and their happy country a bright 
and glorious future. Ciudadanos de Cuba! Nosotros 
OS saludamos, como a la aurora de risueno dia ; y os 
decimos : Adelante, a conquistar el porvenir con honor y 
gloria ! 

Comrades of the Army of Santiago de Cuba! we do 
not forget that we are here to speak of the dead, not to 
praise the Hving. But in turning from this hallowed 
ground and casting our eyes over this once distracted 
but now happy and prosperous land, the soldiers who 
fought at Guasimas, El Caney and San Juan and Kettle 
Hills can find a fitting reward for their valor. And the 
consciousness of having been permitted to contribute in 
some small way to such a splendid result is a satisfaction 
which all will carry with them to the end of life. This 
monument which we here affectionately dedicate may 
indeed moulder away; the very ground on which it 
stands may be submerged by the on-rolling waves of 
yonder restless sea; but the eternal principles of human- 
ity and justice which summoned the soldiers of the 
great Republic of the North to this field and for which 
our fallen comrades here laid down their lives shall never 
fail nor grow dim. Standing on this historic height 
which marks another step in the mighty march of human 
progress, we can look with unwavering confidence to the 
coming years, realizing that these imperishable princi- 
ples which constitute the very form and fabric and sub- 
stance of our own national and social existence, are 
surely, irresistibly, spreading throughout the world, and 
have at last, through the shedding of much heroic blood, 
found a firm and impregnable lodgment in the heart and 
conscience of mankind. We are justly proud of the 
splendid part which our own beloved country has had in 
exemplifying these high and holy principles and in en- 
lightening the world with the effulgence of their glory; 
and now on this consecrated ground and as we depart 

(30) 



from this sacred shrine, we would renew to her, our 
native land, our heartfelt vows of fealty and pledg-e to 
her again, as did our fathers of old, "our lives, our 
fortunes, and our sacred honor." 



Extract from the Report of the Santiago 
Battlefield Commission. 

The Military Service Institution, 

Governor's Island, New York City, 
February 26th, 1906. 

Lieutenant-General A. R. Chaffee, U. S. Army, 

President, Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba. 

Sir : 

The Santiago Battlefield Commission presents here- 
with the summary of events preceding the formal dedi- 
cation of the Battle Monument at El Caney, together 
with a record of that dedication, and the incidents con- 
nected therewith. 

On February 1, 1904, the U. S. Army Transport 
"Sumner" arrived in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba 
for the purpose of withdrawing the last garrison of 
American troops in the Province of Santiago de Cuba. 
While these troops were embarking several officers of 
the American Army, including the present Secretary of 
the Commission, visited the scene of the assaults on 
July 1st at El Caney and San Juan, and the subsequent 
siege of Santiago de Cuba, terminating in the surrender 
of July 17th, 1898. The impression made by the practi- 
cally unmarked battlefield was so painful to the American 
officers that on the arrival of the "Sumner" at Havana, 
to take on board the last garrison of American troops on 
the Island of Cuba, the question of marking the battle- 
field of Santiago was taken up with the American 
Minister. 

(30 





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(32) 



Subsequently, on the arrival of the "Sumner" at 
Pensacola, Florida, a letter was addressed to the 
American Minister, requesting that he obtain permission 
from the Government of Cuba for the erection of four 
simple monuments to mark the four principal engage- 
ments of the Santiago Campaign, but no action resulted 
therefrom. However on November 25, 1904, the present 
Secretary of the Commission addressed a letter to the 
Chief of the Insular Bureau, requesting permission for 
Mr. Frank Steinhart to act as a representative of the 
Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba in his capacity 
as Agent of the War Department in Cuba, or, with the 
permission of the Secretary of State of the United 
States, in his official capacity as the American Consul 
General at Havana, The Honorable John Hay, Secre- 
tary of State, promptly granted the request that Consul 
General Steinhart should act as a representative of the 
Society in the matter, and on December 16th, Mr. Stein- 
hart presented the following petition to President Palma 
of the Republic of Cuba: 

(Here follows a copy of the petition.) 

The petition was promptly granted, and Mr. Stein- 
hart advised in the following communication: 

[Translation.] 

Republic of Cuba, 

Office of the Secretary of State and Justice, 

Department of State, 

Havana, December 22, 1904. 
Mr. F. Steinhart, 

Dear Sir : In reply to your polite communica- 
tion of the 16th of this month, requesting in the name 
of the Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba the 
necessary authorization to erect several commemorative 
monuments at various places in the neighborhood of 
Santiago de Cuba to recall the principal combats that 
took place during the Hispano-American war, I have 

(33) 



the honor to inform you that the President of the Re- 
public, in accord with the Council of Secretaries, has 
been pleased to grant the aforementioned request, and 
to that end has transmitted the request to the Secretary 
of Government to draw up the regulations he may 
deem necessary, provided there be no legal impediment, 
in order that no obstacles may be placed to the wishes 
of the said association. 

Very truly yours, 

C. E. Ortiz, Secretary. 
A true copy : 

(Signed) Aurelio Hevia. 

Major-GeneralJohnC. Bates, U. S. Army, as Presi- 
dent of the Society, was kept advised of the progress 
of events, and under date of February 2d, 1905, ap- 
pointed a committee to take charge. (Here follows a 
copy of General Bates' letter naming a commission to 
consist of General Young, Colonel Wagner, and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Hayes. General A. L. Mills was subse- 
quently appointed, vice Wagner, deceased, ) 

General Young and Colonel Hayes at once proceeded 
to Havana and had several interviews with President 
Palma and the leading Government officials, who re- 
ceived them most courteously and presented to the Com- 
mission bronze Spanish cannon and iron gun carriages 
and bronze mortars on mortar beds, which the Cuban 
Government delivered on the battlefield, together with 
Spanish Mauser rifles and bayonets to be used in con- 
structing a rifle barrel bayonet fence around the surren- 
der tree and around the granite shafts already erected 
on the battlefield of Las Guasimas. 

Prior to the departure from Washington of the 
members of the Commission, they had received assur- 
ances from the appropriation committees of Congress, 
which warranted them in believing that an appropria- 
tion would be inserted, as recommended by the Quarter- 
master-General in the pending Sundry Civil Appropria- 

(34) 



tion Bill ' ' For marking the places where the American 
Soldiers fell, and were temporarily interred in Cuba 
and China, $9,500 ; said sum to be immediately avail- 
able," so that the Commission felt justified in makino; 
definite plans for the marking of the battlefield which the 
Secretary visited with Cuban engineers. No advices 
having been received of favorable Congressional action, 
it was found necessary that he should return to Wash- 
ington where, through the active personal interest of 
the President, the Congress saw its way clear to insert 
the item in the appropriation bill in the Senate, and it 
was incorporated in the act of March 3, 1905. 

On the recommendation of the Commission, Cap- 
tain D. E. Aultman, Artillery Corps, on duty at Havana, 
was appointed Constructing Quartermaster in charge of 
the work at Santiago, with instructions to proceed with 
the carrying out of the plans of the Commission. The 
bids received by Captain Aultman were considered so 
excessive, and so much time had elapsed that the fol- 
lowing was addressed to Chief of Staff on behalf of the 
Commission and favorably acted upon, as shown by the 
following correspondence : (Here follows correspond- 
ence as a result of which the necessary labor and 
material were obtained in open market. ) 

It had been the original intention of the Commission 
to dedicate the Battle Monument on El Caney on July 
1st, 1905, the seventh anniversary of the battle, but 
this was found to be impracticable, and at the suggestion 
of the Alcalde of Santiago a postponement was made. 

On December 16th, 1905, President Palma sent for 
Consul General Steinhart who, after a conference with 
him, advised the Battlefield Commission that the Secre- 
tary of Finance would give immediate orders as follows: 

1. For the free entry of tablets, &c., from America 
to mark the battlefield. 

2. For the repair of the block house at El Caney 
and purchase of land. 

3. For the purchase of Kettle Hill. 

(35) 




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(36) 



4. For the construction of a driveway along the line 
of trenches. 

The Commission being authorized to do the work 
required in open market, secured from the Rock Island 
Arsenal, through the courtesy of the Chief of Ordnance, 
a proposal to furnish the bronze tablets for the Battle 
Monuments with the necessary inscriptions and lettering 
at a price of $8.99 per square foot of tablet, and also 
entered into negotiations with engineers and contractors 
for the construction of the Battle Monument at El Caney 
and the repair of the fort. The work of casting the 
tablets was expedited as much as possible, and the thanks 
not only of the Commission but of the members of the 
Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba, are due to 
Lieutenant Colonel S. E. Blunt, U. S. Army, Command- 
ing the Rock Island Arsenal, for his most efficient and 
active interest in the completion of the tablets. On 
January 1st, a meeting was held in the office of the 
Chief of Staff which was attended by Lieutenant General 
Chaffee, Chief of Staff, as President of the Society; 
Captain Hollis C. Clark, Assistant Secretary and Treas- 
urer of the Society; Major General Bates, Acting Chief 
of Staff; and Colonel Hayes, Secretary of the Santiago 
Battlefield Commission, at which time the date of the 
dedication and the plans therefor were made, including 
the designation of Major W. D. Beach, General Staff, as 
Secretary of the Committee of Arrangements for the 
Dedication on behalf of the Society, and the selection of 
Lieutenant Colonel A. C. Sharpe, U. S. Army, Secretary 
of the Society, to deliver the formal address. Formal 
invitations were issued on behalf of the President of the 
Society to attend the dedication, the members of the 
Society to be transported on the U. S. Army Transport 
"Sumner", to sail from New York on February 8th, 
1906. On January 9th, the Secretary of the Commission 
left Washington for Havana and Santiago and made a 
contract for the completion of the monument at El Caney 
by February 1st proximo, at a total cost of $500, includ- 

(37) 



ing the insertion in the pedestal of the monument of 
the bronze roster and honor tablets, which were to be 
delivered at Santiago by the Society. It was later 
thought best by the Secretary of War to make formal 
application to Congress for authority to employ the 
Transport "Sumner" to convey the members of the 
Society to Santiago, which he did in an official com- 
munication which, with accompanying papers, was 
printed as Senate Document No. 157, and a joint resolu- 
tion unanimously adopted. (Here follows a copy of 
Senate Document No. 157.) 

The Chief of Ordnance, under date of May 22d, 
1905, had advised the Battlefield Commission that the 
Secretary of War had ruled that the Society of the 
Army of Santiago de Cuba could be considered a sol- 
diers' monument association within the meaning of the 
act of Congress, and could receive condemned ordnance 
from the Government, as requested by the Commission. 
The Ordnance Department delivered to the Commission 
at New York four condemned 3,2 inch rifles mounted 
on carriages similar to the guns used in the campaign 
to represent the four light batteries in action during 
the campaign, and a dynamite gun and four iron mor- 
tars to represent the dynamite battery and the two 
mortar batteries which were engaged on the 10th of 
July, 1898. This ordnance, together with the bronze 
"Honor" tablet for the El Caney monument from 
Rock Island and iron tablets to be placed on the four 
field pieces and two field mortars were loaded on the 
"Sumner" at pier 12, East River, and the dedicatory 
expedition started at 10 A. M., February 8th, 1906, stop- 
ping to take on passengers from Washington at For- 
tress Monroe on the morning of February 9th. 

Just prior to sailing, in correspondence with the 
Hon.T.H. Newberry, Acting Secretary of the Navy, for- 
merly a naval officer on the U. S. S. Yosemite at Guanta- 
namo Bay, the Commission agreed to furnish one of the 
bronze Spanish cannons presented by the Cuban gov- 

(38) 




(39) 



ernment for a battle monument on McCalla Hill, if a 
naval tug would convey it from Santiago and deliver 
it to Captain Edward H. Schultz, Corps of Engineers, 
U. S. A. , in charge of the construction of the defences 
at Guantanamo Bay. Arrangements had previously 
been made with Captain Schultz to have this gun placed 
on the site of the fortification thrown up by the Amer- 
ican Marines on the crest of the McCalla Hill during 
the engagement of June 11-13, 1899, between the 
American Marines and the Spanish forces for the pos- 
session of the bay. 

The "Sumner" steamed into Guantanamo Bay on 
the evening of February 13th and cast anchor. Com- 
mander C. E. Rogers, U. S. Navy, in command of the 
station, and Lieutenant L. S. Thompson, U. S. Navy in 
command of the U. S. S. "Yankee", which was to 
convoy the transport to Santiago harbor and land sailors 
and marines to participate in the dedicatory exercises 
at El Caney, called at once on the members of the 
Commission on the transport. The members of the 
Battlefield Commission, Lieutenant-General Chaffee and 
members of the Society and their guests, preceded by 
the 5th Band Artillery Corps, marched to the Battle 
Monument on the summit of McCalla Hill, where 
patriotic airs were plaijed and brief remarks made by 
Lieutenant-General Chaffee, President of the Society, 
Rear Admiral Francis J. Higginson, U. S. N., represent- 
ing the Navy, and Captain William N. McKelvy, U. S. 
Marine Corps, who participated in the engagement on 
McCalla Hill. 

At daylight on February 14th, the "Sumner" and 
the "Yankee" entered Santiago harbor, cast anchor, 
and at 8 A. M. trimmed ship. The "Yankee" fired a 
national salute of 21 guns, and the 5th Band Artillery 
Corps played the National Air of Cuba, just as the 
American Consul, with the local American Committee 
and the Alcalde of Santiago, boarded the "Sumner" to 
present the keys of the City of Santiago. An official 



(40) 



call was at once made on the Governor of Oriente Prov- 
ince and the Alcalde of Santiago, who immediately 
returned the call on board the "Summer". At 12 M. 
the entire party proceeded in carriages and floats to the 
residence of the American Consul who with his wife, 
Mrs. Holliday, held informal reception for the American 
visitors. In the meantime the 5th Band Artillery Corps 
followed by four companies of marines and one company 
of sailors from the U. S. S. "Yankee", all under 
command of Captain W, N. McKelvy, U. S. M. C, 
marched up to the palace where, after rendering appro- 
priate airs, they were furnished with transportation and 
proceeded to El Caney, Cuba, where they disembarked 
and awaited the arrival of the members of the Society 
and their guests, and then formed in procession and 
marched up to Fort El Viso, passing the fine body of 
Cuban Artillery and Rural Guards headed by the Cuban 
Artillery Band, which had already taken station in the 
vicinity of the fort. Lieutenant General Chaffee, as 
President of the Society of the Army of Santiago de 
Cuba, called the meeting to order in accordance with 
the program. 

The Battle Monument consists of a Bronze Spanish 
Cannon, on an iron gun carriage placed on the top of a 
Cement Pedestal ten feet in height in the center of the 
ruins of Fort El Viso, the gun pointing towards the 
position occupied by Capron's Battery. In opposite faces 
of the Pedestal are placed the Bronze "Honor" and 
"Roster" Tablets, while a tablet to Capron's Battery E 
1st Artillery is set on one of the bastions. The walls of 
the Fort have been preserved by a coating of Portland 
Cement and the Cuban Government has constructed a 
driveway up the ramp surrounding the Fort and extend- 
ing to El Caney. 

* * * * * * 

At 8 P. M., the Government of the Republic of Cuba 
formally entertained the members of the Battlefield 
Commission and the ofiicers and members of the Society 

(41) 



.V-l,' -J 







(42) 



of the Army of Santiago de Cuba at an elegant banquet 
given in the Hotel Venus on the palace square, Santiago, 
and at 10 P. M. , the entire party of officers and ladies 
attended a beautiful reception at the San Carlos Club, 
as guests of the Union and San Carlos Clubs. 

February 15th was spent in visiting the battlefields 
of San Juan, El Caney, and Las Guasimas, and Morro 
Castle, while the members of the battlefield commission 
and Lieutenant General Chaffee, as guests of Mr. A. E. 
Borie, Vice-President of the Bethlehem Steel Company, 
visited Siboney, Cuba, and selected the site for the pro- 
posed monument, to be erected by the Juragua Iron 
Company, commemorating the landing place of General 
Shafter and staff and Kent's 1st Infantry Division, and 
the subsequent re-enforcements of the 5th Army Corps 
in Cuba, as well as the location of the Base Hospital of 
the Santiago Campaign from which all the wounded and 
sick were sent back to the United States. In the even- 
ing, from 8 to 12 o'clock, the members of the Society 
entertained at a reception, on board the Transport 
"Sumner", the representatives of the Cuban Govern- 
ment, officers of the Cuban Artillery and Rural Guard, 
the Governor of the Oriente Province, the Alcalde of 
Santiago with their wives and friends, and the American 
residents of Santiago. 

At 8 A. M., February 16th, the "Sumner" left the 
harbor of Santiago and as a special compliment to the 
representatives of the Navy, Admirals Higginson and 
Clark, followed the course of the U. S. S. Oregon in the 
Naval Battle of July 3rd, 1898, steaming to the west- 
ward, passing the Spanish wrecks and being entertained 
by a most graphic description of the destruction of the 
Spanish fleet, by Rear Admiral Charles E. Clark, U. S. 
N., the commander of the U. S. Battleship "Oregon". 

On resuming her course around Cape Maysi the 
"Sumner" stopped off the harbor of Daiquiri, the first 
landing place of the 5th Army Corps in the Santiago 
Campaign. On the beach where the troops were landed 

(43) 



the Spanish American Iron Company, under the inspira- 
tion of its patriotic President, Mr. Charles F. Rand, had 
erected a beautiful monument of Quincy granite in 
which had been set a bronze tablet 3x5 containing the 
following inscription: [Here follows a copy of the 
inscription.] 

The members of the Society and their guests were 
taken ashore in the Company's tug " Colon ", and pro- 
ceeded to the monument, where Lieutenant-General 
S. B. M. Young, as Chairman of the Santiago Battlefield 
Commission, called the meeting to order, and the fol- 
lowing program was carried out : 

Music : "The Star Spangled Banner," 5th Band, Artil- 
lery Corps, U. S. A. 

Presentation of Monument by Mr. De Berniere Whitaker, 
Acting Superintendent Spanish-American Iron Com- 
pany. 

Unveiling of Tablet by Mrs. Charles F. Rand. 

Acceptance by Lieutenant-General A. R. Chaffee, U.S. A, 
President Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba. 

Music : "Himno de Bayamo," 5th Band, Artillery Corps, 
U. S. A. 

At 3 P. M., February 18th, the Transport "Sumner" 
cast anchor in Havana harbor, and the members of the 
party at once visited the places of interest in the city. 
At noon on the 19th, Lieutenant-General Chaffee, Pres- 
ident of the Society, with Mrs. Chaffee, paid a formal 
visit to the President of the Republic of Cuba, and then 
embarked on the steamer " Vigilancia " en route to the 
City of Mexico, greeted with music by the 5th Band 
Artilllery Corps and the cheers of their friends on the 
" Sumner ". At 12 M. February 20th, the members of 
the Commission and of the Society, with their ladies, 
were formally received by President Palma, Secretary 
O'Farrell and Secretary Andrade, at the President's 

(44) 



palace, where they were presented also to the members 
of the President's family, and at 6 P. M., after another 
season of farewell music and cheers in honor of Lieut- 
enant-General Young, Chairman of the Santiago Battle- 
field Commission, who remained in Cuba, the Transport 
started on her return trip, stopping at Fortress Monroe 
to allow the Washington contingent to disembark, and 
arriving off New York at daylight, February 25th. 

H: H= * * * * 

The Santiago Battlefield Commission, 
Webb C. Hayes, 

Lieutenant-Colonel, U. S. V., 

Secretay^y. 



(46) 



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